Directing internet shopping traffic and tracking revenues generated as a result thereof

ABSTRACT

A system having a client, a host server, a sponsor server, and a video server, which are all interconnected via the Internet and which operate seamlessly together in order to provide video content to an end user at the client and allow the end user at the client to purchase products and/or services from the sponsor that are featured in the video content provided by the video server. As the user views video content on his or her computer, images associated with segments of the content are periodically provided in conjunction with the video content. Each image contains an image map, which defines areas in the image. Each defined area is associated with a product which is displayed in that area of the image. Each defined area is also associated with an anchored hyperlink which links to web content from a sponsor server. The web content includes product information for that particular product featured in that area of the image. Accordingly, by selecting an item in the image, product information is retrieved from a sponsor server and provided to the user so he or she may purchase the product seen in the video content. 
     Additionally, various user activities and interactions, including which videos are selected for viewing and which products are purchased, are tracked for several purposes. This tracking can be used to determine which videos and products are viewed and purchased more often, as well as for generating revenue sharing reports for purposes of profit sharing. 
     An authoring toolkit allows users to dynamically create, update and customize the interface itself and redirect content and target areas within the interface.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/196,592 filed Aug. 3,2005 now allowed for issuance as U.S. Pat. No. 7,664,678.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to the field of Internet websites ande-commerce; and, more particularly, to directing Internet traffic tovarious e-commerce sites using interactive video and tracking revenuesgenerated as a result of such direction.

BACKGROUND

The Internet has allowed people from all over the world to accessinformation on various products and services made available to theseusers, at literally the touch of a button. E-commerce sites on theInternet for on-line shopping provide many products and services tousers of the Internet through a variety of shopping venues orinterfaces. These e-commerce sites typically provide specificinformation regarding products and services and allow users to purchasethese products and services directly over the Internet. Morespecifically, a typical e-commerce website will provide multiplewebpages that allow the user to access information about variousproducts and services by moving from one page to the other. The user maytypically search through the website by entering a product query andconducting an automated search of the multiple pages in the website, orthe user may select a product classification—such as “electronics”—anddelve through the multiple pages, layer after layer, sifting throughvarious levels of information until he locates the products or serviceshe is interested in purchasing. In some cases, the user will reach apage on the website which contains information on the product or servicein which he is interested. The user will then select that particularproduct or service and more detailed information will be provided. Thisinformation may often be accompanied by an image of the product orservice and an option or instructions for purchasing.

The user may then purchase these products and services directly througha virtual shopping cart. When a user wishes to purchase a product orservice, he or she simply clicks an appropriately labeled icon, and theitem is then placed in the virtual shopping cart. Normally, the quantityand price will also appear at the virtual shopping cart. The user mayreview the contents of the virtual shopping cart at any time and removeitems from the cart. Typically, the user will continue with his or heron-line shopping at the website until he has selected all the productsor services wanted from that website. The user will then typicallycheck-out from the website. The checkout process normally involvesconfirming the products in the virtual shopping cart for purchase,entering credit card/billing information, and entering a shippingaddress. In many cases, however, the user abandons the virtual shoppingcart and leaves the web site without ever completing the check-outprocess, resulting in a lost sale to the e-commerce vendor.

In these types of e-commerce websites, there are several limitations.First, the user can only access the products and services available atthat website. Accordingly, a user may have to jump from one website tothe other in order to purchase different products and/or services.Additionally, the user will have to perform a search of the website eachtime in order to locate the products and services in which he or she isinterested. For example, a website may sell home furnishings andclothing, with the website designed such that information about the homefurnishings is placed on one web page and information about the clothingis on another web page. If the user wants information about both, he orshe must move from page to page within the website. Finally, these sitesare not conducive to the “impulse buyer”. Instead, they are geared moretoward providing a consumer with products or services in which he isalready interested in purchasing, versus capitalizing in on the spotadvertising and product placement in videos and commercials in order tosell additional goods to the consumer. Accordingly, Internet traffic atthese e-commerce sites is often highly dependent upon a user knowingwhich products or services he or she is interested in purchasing. Thisis significant since many e-commerce sites fail because they do not haveenough business and are unable to direct heavy streams of continuedtraffic and business to their websites.

The Internet also provides users with a host of entertainment websites.These websites may provide audio and/or video content for a user tolisten to and/or watch via his or her computer. The user is typicallygiven a number of videos from which to select, ranging from music videosto full length motion pictures, and the user may view these videosdirectly on his or her computer. Often, the user may see some product inthe video that he desires to own, such as a pair of shoes, a shirt, oran automobile. It is desired to capitalize on this impulse buyphenomenon at the very moment it arises. Unfortunately, the user oftendoes not know the brand name, make or model of the product or where topurchase the product. Further, the user may lose interest as timeelapses and is not likely to follow-up on finding out more about theproduct or purchasing the product. Accordingly, a potential sale of theproduct to that user is being missed.

Therefore, what is needed is a method for effectively and efficientlycombining entertainment websites with available products and services inorder to directly link web traffic from a website having video contentto various product and service websites, thereby promoting andencouraging efficient e-commerce and capitalizing on potential impulsebuyers. What is further needed is a way to direct web traffic to variouse-commerce websites in a user-friendly manner, which is fullyinteractive and highly visible. What is further needed is a businessmethod and model for tracking user activity at these e-commerce websitesin order to share profits from purchases made as a result of directingthe web traffic to the website.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the invention allows a user to view video contentdisplayed on the user's computer, while shopping for items featuredwithin the video content all within a single user interface withouthaving to jump from web page to web page.

In a further aspect, the present invention includes a system having aclient, a host server, a sponsor server, and a video server, which areall interconnected via the Internet and which operate seamlesslytogether in order to provide video content to an end user at the clientand allow the end user at the client to purchase products and/orservices from the sponsor that are featured in the video contentprovided by the video server.

In yet another aspect of the invention, as the user views video contenton his or her computer, images associated with segments of the contentare periodically provided in conjunction with the video content. Eachimage contains an image map, which defines areas in the image. Eachdefined area is associated with a product which is displayed in thatarea of the image. Each defined area is also associated with an anchoredhyperlink which links to a web content from a sponsor server. The webcontent includes product information for that particular productfeatured in that area of the image. Accordingly, by selecting an item inthe image, product information is retrieved from a sponsor server andprovided to the user so he or she may purchase the product seen in thevideo content.

In another aspect of the invention, the video content, image and sponsorproduct information are all preferably provided within a single userinterface, such as a single webpage. Accordingly, a user does not haveto jump from one webpage or website to another in order to purchase theproducts or services she sees in the video content.

In still another aspect of the present invention, various useractivities and interactions, including which videos are selected forviewing and which products are purchased, is tracked for severalpurposes. This tracking can be used to determine which videos andproducts are viewed and purchased more often, as well as for generatingrevenue sharing reports for purposes of profit sharing between the hostand the sponsor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a user interface which is awebpage generated by a host server;

FIG. 3 illustrates the concept of providing segmented video content andimages which correspond with each segment of video content;

FIG. 4 illustrates a interaction diagram which shows the flow ofinformation in one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a tracking report.

FIG. 6 illustrates user flow from point of entry to user exit,generating an activity report.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention allows a host server to provide video content toan end user, the video content featuring products and services availablefor purchase. As the user views the video content, he can selectproducts he wants to purchase. Software resident on the host serverseamlessly retrieves information about the products and servicesdisplayed in the video content from various sponsor servers and providesthis information to the user. A user can then purchase the products andservices he just saw in the video content. In a preferred embodiment,the entire process is fully integrated within a single user interface,such as a single webpage, so there is no need to jump from one webpageto another to view video content, select products of interest, viewproduct information or purchase such products. The invention furtherallows a host to track user activity and purchases, in order to generaterevenue sharing reports based upon that activity.

System Overview

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown an illustration of a system inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. It will beappreciated that the system illustrated in FIG. 1 may be incorporated into larger, more complex systems while still providing the features andbenefits of the invention. As shown, the system includes a client 201, ahost server 205, a video server 210 and multiple sponsor servers 215 aand 215 b. These are all coupled together via a network 225. The network225 is preferably the Internet; but can also be an intranet, a dual ortoken ring network, or any other wide area network (WAN).

The client 201 is the computer through which an end user accesses thenetwork. The client is configured to access the Internet using aconventional web browser, such as Netscape or Windows Internet Explorer.In a preferred embodiment, the browser is capable of supporting frames.In addition, the browser includes a video player plug-in, such as RealPlayer from Real Networks or Quicktime 4.0 from Apple Computer, Inc.

In a preferred embodiment, the host server 205 contains a Webserver(e.g. Apache Webserver or Enterprise Server) for serving web content,including providing a user interface via a webpage that combines videocontent with on-line shopping capability. The host server 205 retrievesvideo content from the video server 210 and provides the video contentto the client for a user to view. The video content contains any numberof products available for purchase. The host server 205 also retrieveswebsite content resident on one of the sponsor servers 215 a or 215 b,respectively, by deep linking to a webpage where the content isresident, whenever a user selects one of the products featured in thevideo content. The web content includes specific product informationabout the selected product. This product information is retrieved from aparticular webpage within the sponsor server 215 a or 215 b, and is thenintegrated into the single webpage which is provided to the client bythe host server 205. Accordingly, using a single webpage, an end usercan observe video content and shop for items or services featured in thevideo content without having to jump from one webpage to another. Thehost server 205 further includes software for tracking user activity inorder to determine which products and services are purchased.

The video server 210 accesses a content database 211 which containsvideo content, images (such as .gif or .jpg images) which correspondwith the video content. The content database 211 also includes hypertextlinks which correspond with each of the images. These are also retrievedby the video server 210 as the video content is played. The videocontent can include music videos, commercials, movie trailers,full-length feature films or any other type of video content, stored ina conventional format such as the MPEG standard format. Each videocontent is associated with a number of images. Each of these imagescorresponds with a single segment of associated video content. Morepreferably, each such image is selected from a single frame in thecorresponding segment of video content. Alternatively, the image maycorrespond with any frame within the segment of video content or it maybe a representative still image which is a single composite of theentire segment of video content.

In a preferred embodiment, the images include an image map which issegmented into a number of areas such that a different item or productis featured or positioned in each area of the image map. Each area ofthe image map is then anchored with an associated hyperlink.Accordingly, a single image will have a number of products featured inthe image, each product positioned in an area of the image map andanchored to a hyperlink. The hyperlink is a deep link to a webpage inthe corresponding sponsor website where the specific information aboutthat product can be found. The different items featured in the imagescorrespond with products and services featured in the correspondingsegment of video content. Accordingly, when an item featured in one ofthe areas of the image map is selected by the user, the hyperlink whichcorresponds with that area of the image map is activated. Using thehyperlink, information about the product is automatically retrieved froma sponsor website, and displayed for the user to view and purchase theproduct.

The sponsor servers 215 a and 215 b are the e-commerce servers whichprovide the information about the various products and services featuredin the video content. For example, a first sponsor server 215 a may beassociated with a clothing manufacturer, and may provide informationabout clothing featured in the video content and the correspondingimages by retrieving the information from a storage device 216 residenton or coupled to the first sponsor server. A second sponsor server 215 bmay be associated with a jewelry manufacturer, and may provideinformation from storage device 217 about jewelry or other accessoriesfeatured in the video content and the corresponding images. The sponsorservers 215 a and 215 b will provide this information to the host server205 whenever one of its corresponding products is selected from theimages or hypertext links. IN a preferred embodiment, the host server205 will deep link to a webpage on the sponsor server 215 a or 215 b andretrieve the webpage from the sponsor server 215 a or 215 b. The webpagewill contain information specific to the product selected. The webpagewill be appropriate sized and displayed in the user interface orwebpage. Alternatively, the deep link may link to an address where webcontent information specific to the product selected is stored. In thiscase the information (such an image, pricing, color, availability, stocknumber, etc.) is passed on the host server 205 and the host serverconstructs and organizes the information for display within the userinterface or webpage. In this case, the host server will integrate theproduct information from the sponsor website directly into the webpageso a user can view and purchase different products without having tojump from one webpage to another while continuing to view the videocontent.

User Interface or Webpage

As explained earlier, the host server 205 contains software forproviding a user interface, such as a webpage, which combines videocontent with interactive on-line shopping capability. In a preferredembodiment, a user accesses video content through a host website whichis provided by the host server 205. The host website will provide atleast one webpage having a number of icons or thumbnail images whichcorrespond with different video content available for viewing. Forexample, a host website may provide several thumbnails which correspondwith a number of different music videos which are available for viewing.Alternatively, the thumbnails may correspond with commercials, shortvideos, movie trailers, or full length motion pictures available forviewing. The user selects the desired video content he wishes to view byselecting one of the thumbnails, and a new webpage is generated by thehost server 205.

FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the new webpage generatedby the host server 205. As shown, the webpage preferably includesseveral main areas. A first area is the video content area 305. Thisarea of the user interface displays the video content which the user hasselected for viewing. The video content is provided by the video server210, As explained earlier, the user will view the webpage using a webbrowser which includes a video player plug-in, such as the Real Player™by Real Networks or the Quicktime™ Video Player by Apple Computers. Itis understood that alternative video player plug-ins may be utilized andthe invention is not limited to use with any one particular video playerplug-in. As with most video content players, the video content area willalso provide controls for stopping, starting, pausing, fast-forwarding,or reversing the video content, as desired by the end user.

A second area of the user interface is the image area 310. This area ofthe user interface displays the image which corresponds with the segmentof the video content currently being displayed in the video content area305. As a video is played in the video content area, the video server210 provides the image corresponding to the current segment of videocontent being played. Thus, the image is periodically updated tocorrespond with the current segment of video content being displayed inthe video content area 305. Preferably, the image is a still from thecurrent segment of video content being played. Alternatively, the imagemay be a composite representative image of the current segment of videocontent being played.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an image having five different productsPRO1-PRO5 available for purchase. Each of these products is featured inthe corresponding segment of video content. These products are locatedat different areas within the image. The image is embedded with an imagemap which defines the shape and size of each of the areas in which theproducts are located in the image. In one embodiment, these areas areeither rectangular or hexagonal in shape. Each region is anchored to anassociated hyperlink which links to a corresponding sponsor websitewhere information about the item featured in that area is available.When a user selects an item from the image, the link associated with thearea in which the item is located is activated and the information aboutthe item is retrieved from the appropriate sponsor server 215 a or 215b.

In a preferred embodiment, the image is updated by the video server 210at regular intervals as the video content is displayed such that as eachsegment of the video content is played, the corresponding image for thatsegment will also be displayed. FIG. 3 illustrates this concept ingreater detail. As shown in FIG. 3, the video content is divided into anumber of segments (shown as segments 1 an 2 in FIG. 3). Each segmenthas a corresponding image. As the video content is displayed in thevideo content area 305, the images displayed in the image area 310 areupdated. Accordingly, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, when thevideo begins playing, the first image IMAGE1 is displayed in the imagearea 310. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the image correspondswith the image in frame 1 of the video content. As the video contentcontinues to play, it reaches a second segment of video content whichbegins at frame 20. At this time, the image displayed in the image area310 is updated to a new image. The new image displayed IMAGE 2corresponds with the image in frame 20 of the second segment of videocontent. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the image displayed inthe image area corresponds with the first frame in each segment of videocontent. It is understood that this is only one preferred embodimentand, alternatively, the image displayed may correspond with any one ofthe frames in the corresponding segment of video content or it may be arepresentative composite of all the frames in a given segment of videocontent.

Optionally, a smaller image icon area 312 may be positioned adjacent tothe image area 310. This image icon area 312 will show thumbnails forthe previously displayed image, the currently displayed image, and thenext image yet to be displayed. Using the thumbnails displayed in theimage icon area 312, a user may jump back to the last image displayed inorder to buy previously shown products; or, the user may jump forward tothe next image in order to see different products available. As eachsegment of video content is played in the video content area 305, thethumbnails displayed in the image icon area 312 are also updated suchthat the image content area always shows thumbnails for the previouslydisplayed image, the currently displayed image, and the next image to bedisplayed (which corresponds with the next segment of video content).

Referring again to FIG. 2, a third and optional area in the userinterface is a hypertext link area 315. This area is used to display aset of hypertext links which correspond with each image and each segmentof video content currently being displayed in the other areas of thewebpage. In a preferred embodiment, the hypertext links are textuallinks which match those links associated with the areas of the image. Asexplained before, the image displayed in the image area has a number ofdefined areas or regions, each area or region is associated with ahyperlink. The hypertext links in the hypertext link area 315 aretextual links which link to the same sponsor websites as the hyperlinkswhich are tied to the areas or regions of the image. Accordingly, eachhypertext link is a deep link into a corresponding sponsor website to apage where specific product information for the corresponding product iscontained and from which the user may purchase the product. As the imagedisplayed in the image area changes, the set of hypertext linksdisplayed in the hypertext link area also changes to correspond with theproducts featured in the image. Therefore, the hypertext link area 315contains a textual representation of the information displayed in theimage area 310. Referring to FIG. 2. if it is assumed that the productlabeled PRO4 in the image is a coffee mug, then a correspondinghypertext link may appear as shown in FIG. 2. In a preferred embodiment,the hypertext link will include the name of the item and the name of thesponsor. For example, in FIG. 2, the corresponding hypertext link reads“COFFEE MUG by CRATE, & BARREL™—and would link to the CRATE & BARREL™website.

A fourth area in the user display interface area is a product contentarea 320. This area is where the specific product information andpurchase options which are retrieved from the sponsor servers 215 a and215 b is displayed when a specific product or service is selected fromthe image or the hypertext links. Accordingly, when a user clicks on oneof the items of merchandise featured in the image currently beingdisplayed in the image area 310, or on one of the hypertext linksdisplayed in the hypertext link area 315, the corresponding productinformation is retrieved from the sponsor server 215 a or 215 b anddisplayed in the product content area 320. For example, in FIG. 2, ifthe coffee mug in the image is selected, or if the appropriate hypertextlink in the hypertext link area 315 is selected, then information aboutthat product will be retrieved from one the appropriate sponsor server215 a or 215 b and displayed in the product content area 320.Accordingly, in the example shown in FIG. 2, if the coffee cup isselected in the image or if the link which reads “COFFEE CUP by CRATEAND BARREL™” is selected, then product information about the coffee cupwill be retrieved from the CRATE AND BARREL™ website and displayed inthe product content area 320.

In one embodiment, the information displayed in the product content area320 may contain a large photo or icon of the product. Accordingly, FIG.2 shows an icon of a coffee mug in the product content area 320. Otherinformation, such as size, available colors, price, manufacturer item #,and the item name may also be displayed. In a preferred embodiment, theproduct content area will also provide the user with an option topurchase the product directly from the sponsor. In a preferredembodiment, if no item has been selected the product content area 320may be used to display any information specific to and/or designated bythe host until and unless a product featured in the video content andcorresponding image is selected.

Accordingly, there is no need to jump from one website to another inorder to purchase the same coffee mug which appears in the videocontent. This helps capitalize on the “impulse” buy. Once the user seesthe product in the video, he or she may purchase it directly from thevendor within a matter of seconds without ever having to leave thevideo.

Flow and Operations

FIG. 4 illustrates an interaction diagram which shows the flow ofinformation in one preferred embodiment of the present invention. Asillustrated, a user selects a host website from which video content willbe viewed using a web browser. The user enters the host website addressinformation into his or her browser and the client server contacts thehost website. The host server then provides the host website content tothe user. The host website may contain multiple pages of information,each page preferably including a number of thumbnails corresponding toviewable video content selections, such as music videos, commercials,movie trailers, full length feature films, or any other video content.The user may view the full video content which corresponds with thethumbnails at any time by selecting one of the thumbnails. The userselects the appropriate thumbnail which corresponds with the videocontent he wishes to watch and that selection is forwarded on to thehost server. The host server then sends a signal (e.g. a URL address andquery string identifying the video) to the video server requesting thatthe video server download the requested video content which correspondswith the selected thumbnail.

The host server 205 uses software resident on the host to create theuser interface or webpage as described earlier. In a preferredembodiment, the video server will provide the video content, the images,and the hypertext links all to the user through the user interface orwebpage. The signal provided from the host server 205 to the videoserver 210 will include codes for directing the size and location wherethe video is to be displayed, such that the video will play in the videocontent area 305 of the user interface or webpage provided by the hostserver 210. Accordingly, the host server will integrate the videocontent, the images, the sets of hypertext links and any other contentinto a single webpage, such as shown in FIG. 2, and provide the webpageto the client.

In one embodiment, the video does not immediately play when the new userinterface or webpage first opens. Instead, the user initiates theplaying of the video. Accordingly, the user selects to play the videousing the video controls which are also displayed in the video contentarea. In the case of streaming video content when a user selects to playthe video content, the client sends a signal to the video server tobegin playing the streaming video content. In the case of cached videocontent, video is downloaded and cached at the video server 210 and thehost server begins retrieving the video content from the cache. The hostserver 205 can then appropriately resize the video such that it isproperly displayed in the video content area 305 of the user interfaceor webpage.

Once the user begins viewing the video content, the video server beginsto provide the images which correspond with the video content,continuously updating the images throughout the duration of the videocontent at each corresponding segment. Preferably, each imagecorresponds with a frame contained within a segment of the videocontent. This may be the first frame of the segment or any other framein the currently displayed segment of video content being played in thevideo content area 305. As the video content is played, the images willpreferably be updated at regular intervals. Accordingly, as the videocontent is displayed, the image which is displayed in the image area ofthe new window user interface is continually updated, a new image beingdisplayed as each segment of video content is played.

Optionally, the video server will also provide the thumbnails which aredisplayed in the smaller image icon area 312 positioned adjacent to theimage area 310. This image icon area 312 will show thumbnails for thepreviously displayed image, the currently displayed image, and the nextimage yet to be displayed. Using the thumbnails displayed in the imageicon area 312, a user may jump back to the last image displayed in orderto buy previously shown products; or, the user may jump forward to thenext image in order to see different products available. As each segmentof video content is played in the video content area 305, the thumbnailsdisplayed in the image icon area 312 are updated by the video serversuch that the image content area always shows thumbnails for thepreviously displayed image, the currently displayed image, and the nextimage to be displayed (which corresponds with the next segment of videocontent.

Along with the video content and the still images, the video server willalso provide sets or groupings of hypertext links at regular intervals.As explained earlier, these sets or groupings of hypertext links willcorrespond with the products or services featured in the image currentlybeing displayed. The hypertext links are integrated with the new windowuser interface and are displayed in the hypertext link area of the userinterface. In a preferred embodiment, the sets of hypertext linksdisplayed in the hypertext link area correspond with those which areembedded in the images, and a user may use either the image or the setof hypertext links to obtain additional information and/or purchase asponsor's product.

For example, the still image may show a man wearing a sweater andsunglasses walking with a woman who is wearing a skirt, blouse and blackshoes. A user may position a cursor over any of these items and click onthe item, thereby being linked to the product manufacturer's website,which will contain more detail about the product we well as informationon purchasing the product including price, quantity and stock.

Tracking

As indicated above, the host server also tracks the end user's activityfrom the time he or she enters the host website. In a preferredembodiment, the host server can track the date and time a user firstenters the host website because the host website is preferably user idor password encoded. If a user id or password is used, as a user entersthe host website, he or she will be prompted to enter his or her user idor password. The host server will validate the user ID or the passwordand record the time and date the user logs into the host website. Fromthat point one, activity specific to that user can be tracked andrecorded.

Alternatively, this can be done by placing a cookie on a users computerthe first time he or she accesses the host server. This cookie will thenbe recognized when the user subsequently accesses the site from the sameclient 201. If a cookie is used, this information will be embedded inthe cookie and a user will automatically be recognized each subsequenttime he or she accesses the host server from the same client. From thatpoint one, activity specific to that user can be tracked and recorded.

In a preferred embodiment, the software can track activities such asvideo content selected for display/viewing, products selected from theimage, hypertext links selected (if any) and the date, time and day ofthe week these actions occur. In this embodiment, product information issimply passed from the sponsor servers to the host server and the hostserver reconstructs the display within the product content area 320 ofthe user interface or webpage. The host then accepts and processes allorders for product purchases and forwards this information on to thesponsor.

Alternatively, software resident on both the host system and the sponsorservers can work in concert to monitor activities within the interfaceor webpage provided by the host server and within the deep link to theproduct information within the sponsor server. In this embodiment, whena user selects one of the products in the image mapped image displayedin the image area 310, the deep link to the webpage where the productinformation is stored in the sponsor server is then used to retrieve theactual webpage from the sponsor server. The host server 205 will alsopass user identification information on to the sponsor server. Thewebpage which is retrieved from the sponsor server using the deep linkis then appropriately sized and displayed in the product content area320 of the user interface or webpage. Accordingly, in this embodiment,user activities which occur within the product content area 320 of thewebpage are actually monitored and recorded by the appropriate sponsorserver. This activity is then reported to the host server on a regularongoing basis. As further described above, the host server can also usethe tracking software to generate activity reports which describe useractivity. In a preferred embodiment, these reports can be generated on aweekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis to monitor user activity at the hostwebsite to determine which video content is viewed more often, whichproducts are selected more often, which products are actually purchasedand how often, what times and days is traffic the heaviest, etc.

FIG. 5 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a tracking report which maybe generated by the tracking software resident on the host server. It isunderstood that this is only one format and the information tracked canbe arranged and displayed in a written report in various formats. Asshown in FIG. 5, entries 1 through 5 in the report track the activitiesof the user-id jcarr. This user logged on to the host website at 4:09:44p.m. on May 9^(th). The user proceeded to select a Britney Spears video.The user then clicked on a product displayed in one of the images forRed Pants by the GAP™. The user then purchased the pants from the GAP.Finally, the user logged off of the host website at 4:15:34 p.m. on May9^(th).

Accordingly, the present invention is understood to be limited only bythe scope of the subsequent claims, and not inherently limited by thedetails of the preferred embodiments disclosed above.

1. A method for providing internet traffic for on-line shopping viacomputer or other web-connected mobile device or television: providing asegment of video content having a number of products featured in thevideo content which a user may purchase via computer or otherweb-connected mobile device or television; providing an image whichcorresponds with the segment of video content, the image containing anumber of user selectable areas, each user selectable area showing oneof the products contained in the corresponding segment of video content,each user selectable area being anchored to a hyperlink, each hyperlinklinking to an e-commerce website where specific information about theproduct resides and from which the product may be purchased via computeror other web-connected mobile device or television; receiving a user'sselection of one of the areas in the image showing one of the productscontained in the corresponding segment of video content via computer orother web-connected mobile device or television; using the hyperlinkassociated with the user's selected area to retrieve the specificinformation about the product contained in the corresponding segment ofvideo content via computer or other web-connected mobile device ortelevision; and providing the specific information about the product tothe user via computer or other web-connected mobile device ortelevision.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: allowing theuser to exercise an option to purchase the product on-line.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising: providing a set of user selectablehypertext links which correspond with the provided image, each hypertextlink in the series corresponding with a product contained in the image,each hypertext link linking to an e-commerce site where specificinformation about the product resides and from which the product may bepurchased.
 4. The method of claim 3 further comprising: receiving auser's selection of one of the hypertext links in the series; retrievingthe specific information about the product from the e-commerce siteusing the hypertext link; and providing the specific information to theuser so he or she may purchase the product on-line.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: tracking the user's activity, including theuser's product selection from the user selectable products provided inthe image and the user's purchase activity after the information aboutthe product is retrieved from the e-commerce site.
 6. The method ofclaim 5 further comprising: generating an activity report for each userwho selects one of the user selectable products provided in the imageand retrieves information from the e-commerce site, said reportcontaining information about the tracking of the user's activity.
 7. Themethod of claim 4 further comprising: tracking the user's activity,including the user's selection of one of the hypertext links in theseries and the user's purchase activity after the information about theproduct is retrieved from the e-commerce site.
 8. The method of claim 7,further comprising: generating an activity report for each user whoselects one of the hypertext links in the series of hypertext links andretrieves information from the e-commerce site, said report containinginformation about the tracking of the user's activity.
 9. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising: providing a new segment of video contenthaving a number of new products featured in the video content which auser may purchase; providing a new image which corresponds with the newsegment of video content, the new image containing a number of new userselectable products which correspond with the new products featured inthe new segment of video content, each new user selectable product inthe new image being embedded with a hypertext link, each hypertext linklinking to an e-commerce site where specific information about the newproduct resides and from which the new product may be purchased;receiving a user's new product selection from the new user selectableproducts in the image; retrieving the specific information about theuser's selected new product from the e-commerce site using the embeddedhypertext link; and providing the specific information about the newproduct to the user and allowing the user to exercise an option topurchase the new product on-line.
 10. The method of claim 9 furthercomprising: providing a new series of user selectable hypertext linkswhich correspond with the new image, each hypertext link in the newseries corresponding with one of the new products contained in the newimage, each hypertext link linking to an e-commerce site where specificinformation about the new product resides and from which the new productmay be purchased.
 11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:receiving a user's selection of one of the new hypertext links in theseries; retrieving the specific information about the new product fromthe e-commerce site using the selected hypertext link; and providing thespecific information to the user so he or she may purchase the producton-line.
 12. The method of claim 9 further comprising: tracking theuser's activity, including the user's product selection from the userselectable products provided in the new image and the user's purchaseactivity after the information about the product is retrieved from thee-commerce site.
 13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:generating an activity report for each user who selects one of the userselectable products provided in the new image and retrieves informationfrom the e-commerce site, said report containing information about thetracking of the user's activity.
 14. The method of claim 11 furthercomprising: tracking the user's activity, including the user's selectionof one of the hypertext links in the series and the user's purchaseactivity after the information about the product is retrieved from thee-commerce site.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:generating an activity report for each user who selects one of thehypertext links in the series of hypertext links and retrievesinformation from the e-commerce site, said report containing informationabout the tracking of the user's activity.
 16. A user interface for usewith a web browser via computer or other web-connected mobile device ortelevision, comprising: a video area for displaying several contiguoussegments of video content featuring products which may be purchased; andan image area for providing a series of images, each image in the seriescorresponding with one of the contiguous segments of video content andcontaining a number of user selectable areas, each area showing one ofthe products featured in the corresponding segment, wherein each userselectable area in the image is anchored with a hyperlink whichcorresponds with a sponsor webpage such that when the area is selected,information about the product shown in that area, including an option topurchase the product, is linked from the sponsor webpage using thehyperlink, and the information is displayed to the user via computer orother web-connected mobile device or television.
 17. The user interfaceof claim 16, further comprising: a hypertext link area for providing aset of user selectable hypertext links, each hypertext link in the setcorresponding with one of the number of user selectable productscontained in the image such that when one the hypertext links isselected, information about the corresponding product, including anoption to purchase the product, is linked from the sponsor web site andprovided to the user.
 18. The user interface of claim 16, furthercomprising: a product content area for displaying the information aboutthe product and the option to purchase the product which was linked fromthe sponsor webpage using the hyperlink.
 19. A user interface for usewith a web browser via computer or other web-connected mobile device ortelevision, comprising: a video area for displaying several contiguoussegments of video content featuring products which may be purchased; animage area for providing a series of images, each image in the seriescorresponding with one of the contiguous segments of video content andcontaining a number of user selectable areas, each area showing one ofthe products featured in the corresponding segment, wherein each userselectable area in the image is anchored with a hyperlink whichcorresponds with a sponsor webpage such that when the area is selected,information about the product shown in that area, including an option topurchase the product, is linked from the sponsor webpage using thehyperlink, and the information is displayed to the user via computer orother web-connected mobile device or television; a product content areafor displaying the information about the product and the option topurchase the product which was linked from the sponsor webpage using thehyperlink via computer or other web-connected mobile device ortelevision.
 20. The user interface of claim 19, further comprising: ahypertext link area for providing a set of user selectable hypertextlinks, each hypertext link in the set corresponding with one of thenumber of user selectable products contained in the image such that whenone the hypertext links is selected, information about the correspondingproduct, including an option to purchase the product, is linked from thesponsor web site and provided to the user.
 21. The user interface ofclaim 19, further comprising: a “toolkit” allowing users the means todynamically change all content within the interface and simultaneouslyupdating all linking between content frames and backend tracking. 22.The toolkit of claim 19, further comprising: a link generation windowallowing users the means to copy and paste linking code generated with aunique identifier so as to allow for web-wide distribution of saidinterface and content.